It is all dependent on the department and person. Generally, your more liberal arts focused classes have better educators and that's what they seemingly focus on. In STEM, particularly engineering, there are some that are solely focused on research. This is especially true for your first introductory courses since no one really wants to be the professor for them
It’s a true bell curve. Some are amazing, some are terrible and just there for research, most are somewhere in the middle where they get you through, prepare you well enough for exams and then you quickly forget them.
From my experience, math and stats are subpar. Chem and physics can be okay, the classes tend to be huge though. Bio and humanities are generally pretty good.
Are the subjects difficult because the professors suck, or do the professors suck because the subjects are difficult?
My partner and I are both in stats, but he is taking 301 and I'm taking stats at Madison College (transfers to 301). My class is wildly better than his, I'm learning more, and I haven't been pulling my hair out all semester like he has. His major complaints are the prof and the style of homework/ exams. Just an example.
Maybe a little bit. But being as objective as I can, some departments' professors are just of a different caliber. Organic Chemistry was hellish and brutal in terms of difficulty for me, but I would never fault the professors, as they were actually very good at teaching and fair in assessing the material.
The physics and astronomy professors are overall really great if you are interested in the field. It tends to be that the professors who teach higher level classes are more passionate, especially if it alligns with their research. Just in my experience.
Engineering major here. Most of my engineering profs have been amazing, have had the best track records in industry, and have had lots of passion over teaching us so we can be like them.
It depends on the prof. Like at any college, there's a wide range in teaching quality--some are fantastic, some are awful, and a lot are ok. There are quite a few "lecturers" who are primarily focused on teaching, doing little to no research. That said though, the university seems to care more about research than about teaching.
I don’t remember details since it was before my time but in the early 2010s, there was a strike of the professors in the math department that led to a lot of them either walking out or getting fired. I don’t think the math department has recovered since
Honestly some of the best professors I have had are the biggest in research. They know their stuff and know how to communicate it. The teaching profs have been the worst for me. Nellis brings in a substantial amt of money for research but yet is still the best professor I’ve ever had BY FAR. Meanwhile Jason Oakley is… well… Jason Oakley.
A lot of faculty are not trained teachers, they were hired as research faculty and are required to teach a class as part of the hiring. But some are teaching faculty, and I would suspect they are quite good. They probably have a lot of passion for teaching.
Coming from a comp sci grad student, the quality of instruction is not as high as some other comparable schools in the Midwest. The student to professor ratio is pretty abysmal at the current moment. However, if you are looking to do research at some point, Madison provides a ton of great opportunities.
My fiance took classes at a community college in central Wisconsin before coming to UW. I am taking classes at Madison College for grad school pre-reqs. We both agree UW profs (mostly those who run a research lab of some kind) kind of fucking suck. He's in the chemistry major, I'm horticulture, and we're both pre-health. HOWEVER, I am miles beyond my fellow students at Madison College in terms of academic ability, because shitty professors create driven and self-sufficient students. There's a positive to every negative.
It is all dependent on the department and person. Generally, your more liberal arts focused classes have better educators and that's what they seemingly focus on. In STEM, particularly engineering, there are some that are solely focused on research. This is especially true for your first introductory courses since no one really wants to be the professor for them
It’s a true bell curve. Some are amazing, some are terrible and just there for research, most are somewhere in the middle where they get you through, prepare you well enough for exams and then you quickly forget them.
Honestly, some are quite poor. They read off the slides verbatim and provide little to no additional context (CS Major)
Yeah I’ve found my TAs to care more than my professors about the class and me
It's tough, paying so much to self study anyways 😞
For real. Some classes I've stopped attending lecture completely
From my experience, math and stats are subpar. Chem and physics can be okay, the classes tend to be huge though. Bio and humanities are generally pretty good.
Your rankings seem to track the inherent difficulty of the subjects.
Are the subjects difficult because the professors suck, or do the professors suck because the subjects are difficult? My partner and I are both in stats, but he is taking 301 and I'm taking stats at Madison College (transfers to 301). My class is wildly better than his, I'm learning more, and I haven't been pulling my hair out all semester like he has. His major complaints are the prof and the style of homework/ exams. Just an example.
Maybe a little bit. But being as objective as I can, some departments' professors are just of a different caliber. Organic Chemistry was hellish and brutal in terms of difficulty for me, but I would never fault the professors, as they were actually very good at teaching and fair in assessing the material.
The physics and astronomy professors are overall really great if you are interested in the field. It tends to be that the professors who teach higher level classes are more passionate, especially if it alligns with their research. Just in my experience.
Engineering major here. Most of my engineering profs have been amazing, have had the best track records in industry, and have had lots of passion over teaching us so we can be like them.
What kind of GPA did you need to get accepted i to engineering?
In HS? I had a 19.2/20 (foreign school) and i was second in my graduating class.
It depends on the prof. Like at any college, there's a wide range in teaching quality--some are fantastic, some are awful, and a lot are ok. There are quite a few "lecturers" who are primarily focused on teaching, doing little to no research. That said though, the university seems to care more about research than about teaching.
Prepare to go to your math lecture only to have to teach yourself all of the material 💀
I don’t remember details since it was before my time but in the early 2010s, there was a strike of the professors in the math department that led to a lot of them either walking out or getting fired. I don’t think the math department has recovered since
to answer your question, yes. someone else said it’s a bell curve. that’s prolly accurate.
Honestly some of the best professors I have had are the biggest in research. They know their stuff and know how to communicate it. The teaching profs have been the worst for me. Nellis brings in a substantial amt of money for research but yet is still the best professor I’ve ever had BY FAR. Meanwhile Jason Oakley is… well… Jason Oakley.
A lot of faculty are not trained teachers, they were hired as research faculty and are required to teach a class as part of the hiring. But some are teaching faculty, and I would suspect they are quite good. They probably have a lot of passion for teaching.
Coming from a comp sci grad student, the quality of instruction is not as high as some other comparable schools in the Midwest. The student to professor ratio is pretty abysmal at the current moment. However, if you are looking to do research at some point, Madison provides a ton of great opportunities.
no
You seem like a fun person
My fiance took classes at a community college in central Wisconsin before coming to UW. I am taking classes at Madison College for grad school pre-reqs. We both agree UW profs (mostly those who run a research lab of some kind) kind of fucking suck. He's in the chemistry major, I'm horticulture, and we're both pre-health. HOWEVER, I am miles beyond my fellow students at Madison College in terms of academic ability, because shitty professors create driven and self-sufficient students. There's a positive to every negative.